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From: wktang
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  • Ole Xuefei, greatly played with sentiment, basic for this piece!

  • Jesus Christ, great technique and I usually love her interpretations....but I am feeling a bit nervous listening to this!

  • what a beast. i played this on marimba in high school and it could never compare to its potential on the guitar

  • this lady is freaking unreal . her achievement to the guitar make me feel suck 

  • she has the sweetest most pleasant tone of any of the recordings i've heard on youtube. this tempo is a bit too frantic for my taste though.

  • she skip like 30 seconds

  • prefiero a John williams...

  • asturias in 5 minute is very fast

  • I have to say the tempo is too fast. John Williams plays the right one. I love the playing of this girl anyway...

  • ich

  • open to interpretaion yes, and she ties in visually the frinetic pace of life that we currently live

  • excellent performance by an outstanding guitarist, but I did not like the video nor the song changes, the entire background of the song created by isaac albeñiz has been wrongfully changed

  • BEAUTIFUL! 

  • Wow, tons of energy and feeling. She's an amazing musician.

  • too fast

  • maravillosa .....  transmite con su musica sentimientos positivos

  • If Albeniz didn't intend for it to be played at this tempo he should have. It is magnificent and very passionately played.

  • Your published copy may be marked 120bpm but i doubt very much wether Albeniz marked his autograph like that, he probably wrote a few versions and played (like Chopin) many different 'versions', having said that this is a cracking good bit of playing.

  • this is the trippiest thing ever

  • @newjustice1212

    why do you listen this then.....

    another question...why do you even click at it?! ......

  • @Apollon0210 haha its because i am trying to learn to play it on guitar and it is really hard.

  • she played it too fast. but hell, i wish i could.. =)

  • Really great piece, very well interpreted. Personally , I dont really love the videoclip,,I don't know wherre they are going with this :) lol

  • Too fast, good if you want cheese, no good if you want whipped cream...most want whipped cream. A bit like Vidovic's version, its a bit like, yep I can play this, watch me, and quick too, which shows you how good I am...you dont like tough. Obviously it aint like that, but c'mon, some pieces need tension, and tension takes time to create.Awesome technique though and great playing.If stairway to heaven was just a bit quicker I would hate it, its one of those songs, so is this.

  • even vidovic's version is fast. John William's is the best and very clean....

  • Aye, too fast. Granted, the skill she is displaying by playing it that fast is indeed impressive, but (to put what you said concerning tension another way) music isn't only about skill. Skill is merely a way to open the door to a form of expression that words cannot match.

  • @kiwi328i - I absolutely agree!!!! Well said!

  • Great guitar playing!

    About the video i'm sorry but i don't think modern skyscrapers fit the song :\.

  • cga2000 should learn about the difference between classical music and popular music. Britney can't come close to the dedication of this performance. Have you studied something since you were a child. And been taught by great instructors. you really piss me off with your ignorance..

  • this music is so beautiful and wonderful

    Xuefei is great!

  • Cool~

    Just find out about this girl guitarist and looking at her videos.

    Videography showing mirrored scene seems to me like representing austrias' score?...but a bit corny to me though...

  • And the middle section?

  • lol

  • Great video. Great music. Xuefei rock. Inspirational comment at the end.

  • She's an amazing guitarist but as most renditions it is played too fast.

  • great interpretation!

    is not comun to see video clips for classical guitar, looks good anyway :D

  • i, honestly, prefer john williams' recording of this song

    but that run at around 1:25 is probably the best iv ever heard, better than any of the ones iv heard at classical guitar concerts

    xuefei is definitely one of my favorite guitarists; great style, execution, expression and the rubato in her playing is really emotional

  • she does do that run incredibly well. it is pretty fantastic

  • Wonderful dexterity.. incredibly musical.. clueless about Spanish music and Albeniz in particular. Too fast, showy, cheap.. etc. Reminds me of those demo CD's they had for high-end stereo systems. All sound and no music. It's a pity that she does not have the opportunity to spend a couple of years studying with Andres Segovia. She lacks style.

  • Suggest you do some serious reading and learn more about this musician before making such opinionated comments. Explain why she is in such a great demand on concert tours the world over. Given her talent and the depth of her musical training, she is firmly grounded and has her own style already. Need for Xuefei to copy anyone else's style.

  • Xuefei is secure enough to not mimic or copy others' styles. There is always room for interpreting a piece of music in different way.

  • I'd rather do some "serious" listening than "reading" - unless you mean sheet music naturally. As to "demand" .. as far as I know, "britney" or "justin" et al. beat XF any day.. and all "serious" musicians together, for that matter. I think she has great potential, but she'll have to make up her mind at some point, and the sooner the better either become one of the great interpreters of our time on any instrument, or embrace the career of a virtuoso turned low-budget pop star. See what happens.

  • Thanks for your reply. I get it. Constructive criticism is good for her. If she gets to work with some real masters, that'll help to put her on the path to become "great".

  • Glad you get my point. "Style" was probably the wrong word to use in her case - maybe "depth" would be closer to what I felt. Hopefully she'll have the good sense to take time off concert tours and recording sessions and give herself time to mature.. either by herself of under the direction of a great coach/teacher and not burn out by the time she is forty.

  • Hopefully, this kind of suggestions can somehow get passed onto her management team. Fine art needs time to develop and mature, absolutely. Too many concert appearances can satisfy fans but really put burden on the musician. Anyway, let's enjoy the moment. My only complaint is that there haven't been new YouTube video clips of Xuefei's performances for a long time. Anyone got idea of why?

  • I cannot believe anyone saying she is not serious.

    Read about her training. If you can play as well as she can you have the right to comment. If you can't

    shut up and learn about music

  • she should have studied with segovia. what does it matter that he died when she was 10....

  • She's my favourite musician. REAL musician. Please learn something, stupid mainstream useless 'artists' AKA MTV blowers.

  • This was great, but she skipped an entire section. Why?

  • I agree it lacks the best  and emotionnal part of the song

  • I could do without the idiotic scenes. They don't seem to fit the music.

  • This is by far the coolest!!!

  • Fantastic musician

  • Wow, sometimes she is not even touching the intrument!!

  • could someone tell me anyway to contact her :D hehe bit strange but, i would love to be able to be taught even just a little from Xue-fei Yang

  • amazing! Great Job!

  • HEY TO ALL OF YOU!!

    Listen to the amazing piano Version of Pablo Galdo in the Youtube as well!!!

  • Wow, she is one of the best guitar player.

  • It was written for piano, but Albeniz himself said he liked the guitar version better xD

  • well the second part is missing

  • hong kong?

  • It would be better if this music video is made in Spain instead of in asia. Especially the mountainous Asturias.

  • the piece and video stand up on their own - the dreamlike quality to the video parallels the music very well

  • No, marybabe61 i was not refer to you specifically.

    It's just that there is a general preconception about Asian perform without emotion.

    I personally found this performance quite lively and with much emotion. And contrary to some, it's technically lacking in some area.

  • I can assure you that's not my case.I wanted to see this performance for the opposit reason ,'cos i think that Asian are quite talenty !My only preconception is my own taste,my personal vision how I would listen to this track!

    ( hope you'd understand my raw english)

    Mary

  • It seems on this performance the issue is not if it has emotion, but was it the "right" emotion !?

    Is 'right' meant the artist must perform to the original creator's intent !?

    What is 'right' anyway in music performance!?

    Is there only one way to perform a piece of music !?

    What about Jazz !? Is there a "right" way to play it !?

  • You're absolutly right, THER'S NOT only 1 way to perform a piece, and a lot of times I prefer different versions rather the original ones,I agree with all this. But between several versions of the same piece,ther's always 1 o more you prefer, and that most of the time has nothing to do with a technical talent,but rather ( as you said) depend on how you fell when you close you eyes an listen...Mary

  • Marybabe61, There is no doubt that there are piece she performed that 'lack true emotion', but not this one, this one is 'ORGANIC' enough for me.

    I did not like the way she performed Cavatina (the one shown in youtube), but that's a emotionally complex and demanding piece, how does one conveys a sense of deep lost, quiet defiant and sadness? It's hard for her age.

    Well,

  • Just close one's eyes for a little while and listen to the music before making sour grapes comments.

    The emotion is in the music and not in the facial expression.

    Although some acting can make one a better entertainer, but not necessary a better musician.

  • Well ,if you are talking to me,i just want to clarify that I don't even notice her facial expression,I just was talking about the way she plays. And I also said "IN MY PERSONAL OPINION," that's not EVERYONE's opinion,but just MINE ,and of course you can POLITELY disagree!

  • Well,I have to admit she is technically amazing,but in my personal opinion of course,lacks emotion,almost histeric in some way,though i use to hear the incomparable Segovia' version!!!

  • Technically, there are better guitarists, like Yamashita, Eliot Fisk ou Lianto Tjahjoputro. But her clean style sounds great!!! It's one of the most pleasant guitarists to hear.

  • 100% fantastic! She has made her own version & sounds great. She is definitely 'the technically' best guitarist I have heard.

  • los que dicen que es muy rapido no saben nada.....buena interpretacion!!!!

  • funny, i was doing smthing else when the playlist came on this and I felt this i played buy a chinese person

  • Cool! Sounds great but missing a section,

    if I may be so picky.

  • As an Asian speaking, I gotta say she plays like a typical Asian. Technically perfect, but lacking in emotion.

  • Being european (german even), I'm not allowed to say that. Thank you for speaking my mind :)

  • i don't like it

    too fast

  • business version of emotional piece

  • This peice was never ment to be played this fast........the classical guitar is supposed to be sweet and peirce your soul..........not make you aggressive.

  • your right classical music is made to pierce your soul WETHER YOU PLAY FAST OR SLOW OR EVEN IF YOU MESS UP (not that im saying she is impresive to me because she is perfect tecnically but the song doesnt get to me) but as long as the mussician can get to your soul it doesnt mather if the song is fast

  • Who else could be responsible for the quality of his performance?

  • Too rapid, plus playin this song should be unique, cause you kno Asturias is a rare place in the north of Spain that is what people can't get, I think Segovias and John Williams' is better

  • yo ni madres toco si voy en una camioneta

  • Perfect!

  • nice video, it reacalls me Cafe Tacvba's style...

  • こんな素晴らしい演奏する人がいるのをしりませんでした。エクセ­レントですね。

  • Greetings from  asturias land.I

    enjoy your video very much and I think the way you play this piece is wanderful.Very interesting how

    you mix clasical music style and modern vid.

  • Ande chicchinese by S.E.P

  • Lol at 2:10 she's like I could, but I won't.

  • Just to add to what the uploader of this vidz...

    Isaac Albeniz wrote Asturias with classical guitar in mind. Asturias is a difficult pc for guitar and even more in piano.

  • As much, as I love Segovia's performance of Asturias (Leyenda), Ms. Yang's version is much closer to the original tempo. Looking at the sheet music I have in front of me it's marked at 120bpm and uses 16th notes almost exclusively until the music changes themes and tempo. Just because Ms. Yang chose to play a different interpretation of the piece does not make it any worse in comparison to Segovia.

  • Besides Segovia's version on Youtube sounds awful.

  • @JaisBane

    You are right about the tempo. We only have to listen to such internationally recognized interpreters of Albeniz on piano, like the late Alicia de Laroccha, to understand that, whatever the merits of Andrés Segovia (and they are many), some of his interpretations did not respect the original music. This is not to say that Andrés Segovia is not a great musician, but everyone has "failings".

  • This is good.

    I'm learning guitar and i have 2 years playing the guitar. I have studied 7 months at a museum and my teacher is helping me to play it

    And this piece is wonderful. Even more if you practice it. 5/5

  • Just perfect ! Good work ! =)

  • Please do not argue that the piano version is better or that the guitar version is better. Each has its own beauty to offer, and any argument related to this is both ignorant and not constructive.

  • John williams makes me want to practice harder this virtuoso makes me want to burn my guitars and take up golf!!!!!!

  • bash me if you will, but I like these MTV orientated videos for instrumental and classical music. I think it's an intelligent and honest way for these artists to communicate with the mainstream audience.

  • yeah i think that's right

  • segovia is the best.. best tone!! best rhytam speed.. and best couple reason that i dont know jet.. its always that way!

  • well... i don't like segovia's version that much. but everyone has a different opinion

  • its not a matter someones opinion.. its a matter of knowledge..segovia is the master.. whole spain knows that..

  • he's the master for a lot of reasons. he helped a lot in guitar's history.. that doesn't mean everyone has to like his interpretations best. I like williams' better. we are all different that's why no one can say his the best guitar player. everyone feels the music in a different way

  • this comp. 1st.] its easyer to play faster.. 2] william has a guitar that segovia couldnt dream of.. 3] william has no near tehnick that segovia has, that could tell you every one who has more exp. explorating guitar, william just play nice couse he practice so meny times.. SEgovia has the deepest and the loudest tone.. which william hasnot... for exempl in asturias can you hear his [h] string clear?

  • He has already exlpained in an interview that he's trying to distance the [H]-string because that's not where the main theme lies.. He's emphasizing the bass rather than the lighter notes to keep people un-confused with where the main theme lies! ;)

    Altough, i think that he ought to play the [h] louder.. ;P

  • and one more thing if you like fast music.. try listen to paco de lucia... hi is decidedly nuber one guitarist in the world inculuding al di meola, and john mclaughin... for exemple paco's like-classical song Panaderos Flamencos.. i will write no more on this subject

  • por tus comentarios sólo puedo deducir que eres español (quiero pensar) y defiendes a los tuyos. que no tiene nada de malo pero no significa que tengas razón. si algo no se le puede criticar a williams es su tecnica. pero bueno... dejemos el tema ahi. que estés bien

  • yes ..yes i understood evreything.. i dont speack spanish... when i thought about thing what you want.. simply dont care any more for pacients from youTube.. i know i have correctly opinion

  • opinion... that's the key word

  • The perfofmance is virtuosic, though personalized to Xue-fei's nature. Nothing against that. I personally would prefer more Spanish flavor to it. Technically the video itself is wild and unamiable to the perception of the listener who would like to enjoy the performance. Her other videos are much higher class. The interview is valuable and I believe coming truly from her heart. Stay true Xue-fei and enjoy many happy years of perfoming beautiful music!

  • where is the other half of the B section??

  • You can find it in her CD but not the DVD.

  • Her last point in the interview is spot on. Rock guitarists take note.

  • She's very good.

  • Pity, it's wayt to fast. She slows down at 00:44

    where the piece needs more energy. Besides that it's really nice though.

  • i would say it is much more agrresive playing than a beautiful playing , she is really good player , but she must put more soul into this music

  • so much the same playing as ana vidovic

  • She's playing it very fast - too fast, I think. She's bloody incredible nonetheless.

  • Great guitar performance, video sucks poo tho... I mean like 'huh?'

  • too fast.full stop.

  • Classical Guitar is a wonderful disipline. Not only is classical guitar performed worldwide, but enables the guitarist to focus on composers, interpretations, and techniques. Wonderful Leyenda.

  • wow it's a perpect;;;;;;;;;;i,m so envy;;;;;

  • Flawless, really fast too

  • One of the best guitar performances of this piece on youtube.

  • i must say, the only thing she could have done that more shocking is smashing her guitar the end ala Pete Townshend. That would be very funny. Just a joke guys

  • I enjoyed the performance. She did several things which brought the piece closer to the original piano composition than I have heard elsewhere: she chose appropriate tempi, she rolled the B and G chords in the B section rather than putting harmonics there as most guitarists do. The ascending arpeggio which ends the A section was much closer to how it appears in the piano score than it is in most transcriptions, as was the final measure and a half before the last chord of the coda.

  • Unfortunately, however, she omitted a huge section of the piece, and also chose to let the rasqueado chords ring rather than mute them. Finally, in the B section, again, the grace notes were a semi-tone higher, I believe, than they should be. I wish I could ask her about this transcription and these decisions she made.

  • that was really a wonderfull performance. and for the smashing, i think its the right way to do it on this piece of music

  • why the hell do all you guitars smash that b chord?????

    play it smooth like andres segovia did...

  • I personally think the smashing is better for this piece. Otherwise you lose the energy and some of the "mood" or "feeling" in it. Although it has to be done with moderation, ofcourse, when this piece is sometimes suppressed and calm, and sometimes breaks out in what sounds like fury. And that's when the smashing is better!

    Cool vid by the way. Shows the stress in the city with this classical piece of music... classical is never out of date :P

  • a great talent, though I've been spoiled by witnessing Milica ilic in concert- now she, her compositions, poise, music is why we have music and why we have ears to hear.

  • Number five is alive

  • Wonder! full of passion!... Brilliant!

  • Much too fast with too little feel

  • Did you just advise a former student of the royal academy of music to 'keep it up' hehe

  • That what I was just thinking. Where people get that kind of nerve I will never know.

  • A bit on the rushy side, but well played all the same. Keep it up Yang!

  • So this is the song that Maiden built up "To tame a land" on ? , it sounds really good though

  • nonsense... listen to cavatina

  • Her intepitation of this song is brilliant.

    It's so much more alive than the other versions posted here.

  • she is so beautiful...

  • Buddy that guys version isn't that great lmao this version is excellent because it's more of a true interpretation of the original piano music. This is also kept at a good tempo with almost no flaw at all so this trumps every version of the song I've heard on youtube so far Great job:)

  • Say what you want.. THIS IS SERIES NICE !

  • I love the performance.

  • sooooo hot. i wanna plow- wait. how old is she

  • She is coming to my town in about a week, i am sooo stoked

  • She actually is cheating! Her hands are a way to small for this big guitar. wow, how does she do it.. :P

  • Love it.

  • I think I am in Love.

  • Mind-boggling

  • Too much video editing and new age BS. The performance can and should stand on its own. She's very good.

  • This was originally a piano piece. Her performance is of similar pace to pianists (ie. faster than many traditional guitar recordings). Check for yourself on you tube.

    She is being faithful to the composers intentions, rather than conforming to the way that many guitarists typically play.

    Other guitarists play this pace, or higher - the new generation of players seem to be using their formidable techniques to play this piece in the way intended by the composer.

  • I agree, but on the classical guitar this particular piece does not tell the story. The Piano is different because it is not a string instrument and therefore it has to be played faster to avoid being a cure for insomnia!

  • the piano CAN be considered a string instrument :)

  • this viedo is too fancy

  • Inspiring guitarist.

  • segovia is the king of playing Asturias...

  • Sorry honey, but Eduardo Fernandez is the king of playing Asturias!!

  • Who the hell is Eduardo Fernandez compared to Andres Segovia? LOL.

  • It's all about personal preference. Some people like it played slower, and she apparently doesn't. Her interpretation is a cross between Segovia's and Vidovic's.

  • The sound is good. In my opinion anyway,it is played a little bit too fast...she should let us taste the pleasure of every note

  • I don't believe she is rushing it. Plus the original piano version is even faster.

  • with all the talents these players have,they should make some modern classics as well,sure they could

  • Pretty nice performance, but I still love way better how John Williams or Andres Segovia play it.

  • She is so amazing, but so disappointing she's forgetting a little piece out of it :( and is it my imagination or does she plays a certain chord wrongly? because i seem to hear a chord that does not fit the rest.

  • she plays it very well, but I, too, would prefer more warmth in this piece.

  • yea.. she is rushing it.

  • wth are u talkin bout, how in hell is that slow

  • slow? wtf